REVIEW: The brisk ‘Macbeth’ bares the bloody cost of vaulting ambition

REVIEW: The brisk ‘Macbeth’ bares the bloody cost of vaulting ambition

“CAST PH’s second outing of Shakespeare in the Park is a brief but brutal take on the infamous Scottish play.”

 

After the triumphant debut of Shakespeare in the Park with last year’s production of Twelfth Night, CAST PH shifts from comedy to tragedy, taking a stab at one of the bard’s most celebrated tales of royalty and ruin. The result is an utterly engrossing hour or so of captivating performances, striking storytelling, and some truly haunting moments.

Macbeth follows the journey of a Scottish general who is told by three witches that he is to become king of Scotland. Urged by his ambitious wife, he becomes determined to fulfill this prophecy and their vicious efforts leave a string of bodies in their wake.

Under the clear and confident direction of Nelsito Gomez, this abridged version of what is already Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, strips this story to its bare essentials, focusing on how one couple’s striving for the throne destroys from within and without. While it still has hints of the supernatural, with witches’ whispers and wandering specters, the production highlights the humanity of the story, and how easily men and women can succumb to their dark desires.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”

The set (designed by Ohm David) is a cage-like structure with a cross at the top, perhaps reminiscent of the Scottish flag. The metal bars are illuminated by lights (designed by Rafa Sumilong) that change color depending on the scenes. For instance, regular scenes featuring multiple characters are framed in blue light, notable soliloquies in orange, and murderous moments are lit, understandably, in red. Characters are not confined to this structure, however, but make the most of their outdoor setting, sometimes emerging from nearby trees or walking among the audience seated on the grass.

Props and sound effects are used sparingly but symbolically. A bucket of blood gets refilled whenever someone is murdered. A ghostly character holds up a one-hour timer counting down, a clever device not only to show the audience the actual running time but also to remind Macbeth that his desperate grasping for power has a definite time limit. A distinct drum beat also plays whenever Macbeth delivers a soliloquy, to further highlight this ticking time bomb.

From power to paranoia

Tarek El Tayech is a towering presence as the titular Macbeth, a formidable fighter who becomes pushed by great forces to snatch power for himself. El Tayech imbues his Macbeth with both bluster and vulnerability, portraying a man tortured by the vicious choices he needs to make if he wants to succeed. He is very clearly dependent on Lady Macbeth (played by the wonderful Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo) and has an almost childlike devotion to her.

El Tayech balances his performance with moments of unexpected humor, particularly when Macbeth is plagued by the ghost of a rival he had murdered. The once proud and unassailable figure collapses into a blubbering mess when faced with the consequences of his actions. His subsequent encounters with the weird sisters give El Tayech an opportunity to portray the character’s hubris and delusion. Until the very last second of the show, he believes he is invincible and his expression when he realizes – too late – the extent of his folly, is a poignant final beat to this impressive performance.

From manipulation to madness

But the driving force behind Macbeth has always been Lady Macbeth and Lauchengco-Yulo delivers a performance for the ages. From the moment she appears, Lauchengco-Yulo commands the stage and, in fact, the entire park seems to fall under her thrall as well. While Shakespearean verse seems to flow naturally from her lips, her performance remains grounded and complex, never falling into the trap of making her Lady Macbeth a force of pure evil, but giving her moments of human frailty.

There is a spark of unmistakable glee in her eyes when she realizes the significance of the witches’ words and the opportunity for her and her husband to rise up in the world. She immediately takes charge of the situation, clutching her husband to her chest while she tells him the plan to murder the king. Where El Tayech’s Macbeth wavers, Lauchengco-Yulo’s Lady Macbeth is firm and unyielding, always ready to clean up after him and to keep up appearances.

And if the power dynamics in the couple wasn’t already clear enough, she is literally the one wearing the pants in the relationship, as the only cast member actually wearing pants while everyone else sports black skirts, reminiscent of Scottish kilts (costume design by Sarah Facuri and Hershee Tantiado). Lady Macbeth is also, notably, the only one wearing a white shirt, perhaps hinting at what she perceives as the purity of her purpose, while everyone else is either in black or gray.

Lauchengco-Yulo also masterfully portrays her character’s eventual descent into madness, wracked by the guilt of what she has done. She frantically tries to wash off “the damned spot” and imagined blood of her hands. Her screams of anguish pierce the air around her, proof of the flawed humanity beneath the character’s dastardly deeds.

While this production has taken many creative liberties with the source material, most of which have helped streamline the story, one particular choice feels odd: Lady Macbeth’s death scene. In the original play, she dies off-stage and it is implied that she has taken her own life. This production has taken pains to include more scenes between her and her husband to better establish their bond. Macbeth attempts to calm her down while she is in the throes of grief and in doing so, inadvertently kills her. While it adds to the blood on Macbeth’s hands, such a change removes some of the agency from a character who had heretofore been the most active force in the story.

Capable cast

The rest of the cast juggle multiple roles as they orbit the central couple. Several of them don white masks when they portray the witches who deliver the dreadful prophecy that kicks off the story. Gomez plays Macbeth’s fellow general and rival Banquo, who is skeptical of the witches’ prophecy but whose own role in it threatens Macbeth’s tenuous hold on the throne. He later haunts both the king and the narrative, his ghostly presence driving Macbeth mad.

Cholo Ledesma’s Macduff goes through the ringer, always enduring the extremes of grief, from the death of his king to the slaughter of his entire family. His anguish transforms to vengeance as he faces Macbeth. The physical difference between Ledesma and El Tayech adds a layer of symbolism to their decisive duel since it appears to be a battle between David and Goliath.

Topper Fabregas is princely as the king’s eldest son and heir, Malcolm, who flees to England when his father is murdered. He has a notable exchange with Macduff where he tests the latter’s loyalty, and Fabregas plays Malcolm’s duplicity with a sharp wit. Altair Alonso alternates between being the murdered king and a murderous fiend, sent to do Macbeth’s bloody bidding. Dippy Arceo capably switches between Banquo’s youthful son, Fleance, and the doomed Lady Macduff, who has a brief but memorable scene decrying a world where doing harm is considered laudable while doing good is a folly.

Raising the bar(d)

This finely crafted production is another resounding success for Shakespeare in the Park, not least because of the high turnout of audience members who attended the performance. That such sinister subject matter resonates with audiences of all ages in the park is a hopeful sign for the future of this project and a testament to the power of Shakespeare’s stories in bringing communities together, in this case, in wishing for the demise of a despotic tyrant.

As the creative team continues to strengthen their efforts to bring Shakespeare and other classics to today’s audiences, this writer eagerly looks forward to what they will deliver tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.

This reviewer watched the 7:00 PM, October 2 show.

 

Tickets: Free admission
Show Dates: October 2,-4 2026, 7 PM
Venue: Ayala Triangle (October 2-3), Circuit Park (October 4)
Running Time: approx. 1 hour 10 minutes
Producer: Ayala Land, CAST PH
Creatives: Nelsito Gomez (director and sound design), Ohm David (set design), Sarah Facuri, Hershee Tantiado (costume design), Rafa Sumilong (lighting design)
Cast: Tarek El Tayech, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Cholo Ledesma, Topper Fabregas, Altair Alonso, Dippy Arceo, Nelsito Gomez